The proper management of water resources plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of Armenia. On average, Armenia has sufficient water resources.
... See More + Taking into account all available water resources in the country, Armenia has sufficient resources to supply approximately 3,100 cubic meters per capita per yearwell above the typically cited Falkenmark water stress indicator of 1,700 cubic meters per capita per year. These water resources are not evenly divided in space and time with significant seasonal and annual variability in river runoff. In order to address temporal variations in river runoff, the country has built 87 dams with a total capacity of 1.4 billion cubic meters. Most of these dams are single purpose, mainly for irrigation. Armenia also has considerable groundwater resources, which play an important role in the overall water balance. About 96 percent of the water used for drinking purposes and about 40 percent of water abstracted in the country comes from groundwater. Irrigation remains the largest consumptive user.
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Ratings for the Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project for India were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: success of institutional reforms depends on level of government commitment. The focus should be on building client capacity for monitoring and evaluation (M and E) through training and investment in computerized systems instead of mostly relying on M and E consultants to carry out project M and E. The effectiveness of large infrastructure investments to rehabilitate and modernize irrigation systems for improved water use efficiency and productivity are considerably enhanced by the inclusion of a well-designed and well-implemented agricultural support services component. Information, education, and communication (IEC) activities were an important part of the project because of the significant and complex policy and institutional changes. A fundamental change in government procedures is needed to address the disconnect between: (a) increased water charges and collections that reflect full operation and maintenance (O and M) costs, and (b) low budget allocations for O and M. Consideration should be given to amending the Maharashtra Management of Irrigation Systems by Farmers (MMISF) Act to allow staggering of the election of representatives such that half the members are elected for a six year term every three years.
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Ratings for the Water Management Improvement Project for Kyrgyz Republic were as follows: outcomes were moderately unsatisfactory, risk to development outcome was high, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately unsatisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: instead of requiring organizational change, it may have been more adequate to work with the existing department of water resources and land improvement (DWRLI) divisions in order to establish processes and procedures for improved water resources management. Such a focus on practical and achievable activities will have had more chances to yield results within the originally six year period. Any follow-up project like National Water Resources Management Project-Phase 1 (NWRMP-1) should build on the past experience, learning lessons from the relatively new federation of water users associations (FWUAs), and strengthening the irrigation water management and maintenance capability of WUAs initiated under Second On-farm Irrigation Project (OIP-2). A key factor will be provision of suitable technical expertise in order to build local capability, which is currently weak in the associated disciplines. As experienced elsewhere in Central Asia, it is crucial for the Kyrgyz Republic to modernize its systems of WRM, particularly regarding the collection, processing, analysis, and use of water resources and irrigation data. Assisting the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in these endeavors, it is compulsory for the Bank to adjust the need and speed of institutional reform not only in the water sector to the sometimes very special political and cultural conditions prevailing in the recipient country.
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The objective of the South Karakalpakstan Water Resources Management Improvement Project for Uzbekistan is to make efficient use of water and increase productivity and sustainability of agriculture and agribusiness in the three districts.
... See More + Negative impacts include: soil erosion, disruption of flora and fauna, air pollution, health and safety problems, loss of property, soil contamination, and water shortage. Mitigation measures include: (1) procuring drought-resisting plants for canal-bank stabilization to prevent wind erosion; (2) restoring trees and plants that will be cut down to access the construction site; (3) providing vehicles for transportation of materials, personnel, wastes; (4) providing traffic lights and warning signs for accessing roads and construction sites; (5) arranging temporary water intake either from canals, or using flexible irrigation pipes; (6) providing containers for storage of solid wastes and used oil; and (7) providing compensation for incidental damage to private entities or other emergency situations.
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The development objective of the Additional Financing (AF) for the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project for Nepal is to improve irrigated agriculture productivity and management of selected irrigation schemes, and enhance institutional capacity for integrated water resource management.
... See More + The AF will help in the following activities: (i) scale up the best practices achieved by the project in Farmer Managed Irrigation Schemes (FMIS) to rehabilitate about 80 additional schemes, (ii) support management transfer in the four Agency Managed Irrigation Schemes (AMIS), (iii) develop four river basin plans, and (iv) provide agricultural extension services in the schemes under farmer and agency managed schemes supported by the project.
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The development objective of the Water Sector Support Project (WSSP) for Yemen is to: (a) strengthen institutions for sustainable water resources management; (b) improve community-based water resource management; (c) increase access to water supply and sanitation services; (d) increase returns to water use in agriculture; and (e) stabilize and reduce groundwater abstraction for agricultural use in critical water basins.
... See More + This restructuring will bring the following changes: (i) change to the projects description to reflect the activities to be financed out of the grant; (ii) change to the withdrawal schedule to reflect the loss of joint co-financing, namely amendment of the percentage of expenditures to be financed by the Bank; (iii) amendment of the performance monitoring indicators as reflected in supplemental letter number two to the financing agreement (FA); (iv) reallocation of funds between various categories of expenditure in the withdrawal schedule; (v) change from interim financial report (IFR) to statement of expenditures (SOE) based disbursement; and (vi) extension of the grant closing date from August 31, 2014 to July 31, 2016.
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Ratings for the Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project for India were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: low institutional capacity of government departments and implementing agencies, which is all the more pronounced in low-income states, will negatively impact project implementation and outcomes. In addition to providing needs-based training to staff and officers of government departments and implementing agencies, more consistent technical assistance may be needed to generate the behavior change and skills upgrading required to manage more technically sophisticated water management systems. To achieve sustainable management of groundwater, it is essential to have commitment of the community. Information, education and communication are essential for motivating communities to the need for restraint and cooperation in the use of groundwater. This takes a lot of time but can be made to work with enabling legislation together with the active and continued technical support to the community organizations by the project and by the government or other support network on a longer term basis beyond the project period.
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The objective of the Second Phase of the Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project for India is to: (a) strengthen the institutional and policy framework for integrated water resources management for the entire state; and (b) increase agricultural productivity and water productivity by supporting farmers in targeted irrigation areas.
... See More + There are six components to the project, the first component being strengthening of state-level water institutions and inter-sector coordination. This component aims to provide support to the institutions in the state responsible for overall integrated water resources management and implementation of the state water policy. The second component is the modernization and rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage systems. The third component is the consolidation and enhancement of irrigation institutional reforms. This component will enhance the efficiency of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department (UPID) and strengthen the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) approach both in the department as well as in the community. The fourth component is the enhancing agriculture productivity and on-farm water management. This component (to be implemented directly by the Department of Agriculture) aims to improve the overall agriculture productivity and water-use efficiency at the field level. The fifth component is the feasibility studies and preparation activities for the next phase. This component is to prepare detailed surveys and designs for future third phase areas. These new areas will be identified by the Government of Uttar Pradesh and will make use of similar design principles (and the lessons learned) adopted under this second phase operation. Finally, the sixth component is the project coordination and monitoring.
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